Are the Astros, the team with the best record in baseball, for real this season? I haven't got to see any of the games, because I live out of town, and I'm just wanting to get some opinions. From the looks of it, they've got the offense they didn't have last year, the pitching (for the most part), and some depth. Is this the year they put it all together? Is it too early to tell? Do you think we need Clemens to be serious? Or do you simply think we've just played some awful teams and had some lucky pitching from our young guns?
Of course they're for real. They're the defending NL Champs. They played killer baseball last season when they got Berkman back healthy. I'm not sure why all of this is so surprising to so many of you.
The Astros have been "for real" since about 1997 or so. In terms of record, they're are in the top few teams over the last ten to twelve years. It's a lot harder to consistently (or at all) win championships in baseball than it is in basketball.
The offense has been amazing. The 2006 Houston Astros stats for the entire league... 3rd in the league in HR's at 28 Tied for 5th in the MLB in AVG at .286 Tied for 5th in slugging percentage at .481 Tied for 4th in OBP at .365 10th in walks 10th in total bases at 291 7th in RBI's at 99 7th in Runs scored MOrgan is no longer #1 in batting average. he is now 4th, but he is 2nd in HR"s behind Pooholes. You should have made this a public poll (so that we can see who voted what).
I still want to see if our pitching can hold up. I personally think Wandy and Taylor have been pitching over their heads. We need one of these guys to really come on this year so we can have a solid 3 pitcher rotation in the playoffs.
The difference is in their confidence, you can just SEE that they know they belong. And that is a wonderful thing. Ensberg, Berkman, etc....... And for crying out loud....Burke should be starting over Wilson. DD
Well other than two games with the Giants we have not really played anyone yet. With that being said the Astros should be for real. Best home team in baseball, best pitcher (roy o), top five hitter (big puma) and a top flight closer in Lidge. Add a whole lot of other very good parts!
Yeah I agree. As much as I like watching Wilson strike out and hit .212, I say we give Burke more of a shot.
i know. seriously. this team has been very competitive for about a decade now. two years ago they were one game away from the world series. last season they were the NL Champs. yeah...i'd say they're probably "for real." does that mean they should be crowned champs in april? of course not. but they're very much for real. as they were last year. and the year before that.
Yeah, I saw that, but if he continues to struggle, my guess is Burke will be in there more often. Remember when Lamb and Ensberg rotated? I see that about to start in LF with Burke....(at least in my crystal ball) DD
Wilson's numbers so far... Code: <table cellpadding="1" border="0"> <tr class="ysptblthbody1" align="center"> <td > Year </td> <td >Team</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">G</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">AB</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">R</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">H</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">2B</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">3B</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">HR</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">RBI</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">BB</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">K</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">SB</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">CS</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">AVG</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">OBP</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">SLG</td> <td class="yspdetailttl">OPS</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr class="ysprow1" align="center"> <td align="left" class="yspscores" height="16"> 2006</td> <td align="left" class="yspscores" height="16">HOU</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">16</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">66</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">10</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">14</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">1</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">0</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">4</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">8</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">2</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">22</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">0</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">2</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">.212</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">.257</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">.409</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16">.666</td> <td class="yspscores" height="16"> </td></tr></table> Pretty craptastic. I particularly like the BB/K ratio.
Is it just me, or is one of the best things to ever happen to Houston sports the firing of Jimy Williams and the hiring of Phil Garner? IMO, Jimy was one of Drayton's biggest mistakes.
No, it's not just you. Garner's personality seems to fit the team much better. Granted, at the time, I liked Williams hiring. The assistant coaches also seem to be doing a great job.
Yes he was. But, Jimy could manage a game far better than Phil. Phil can manage a team successfully which Jimy was incapable of. Give me Scraps instead of crap.
I would concur. Historically, if we start at Terry Collins, he was so demanding and abbrassive that he got tuned out. So Drayton then brought in Dieker who was very much the anti-Collins, he was so loose and laid back that it got us into the playoffs many times but sometimes he was so loose that he lost accountability and that hurt us. Jimy Williams was just the worst of both worlds, period. Aristotle had the golden mean and Garner almost seems to be that. He laid back and cool like Dierker but at the same time he has Terry in him in that he'll get into you if he has too. Never too low, never too high.
I disagree. Jimy's management of pitchers was horrendous. He was running pitchers out there non-stop and many of his moves in-game left me clueless. He was a terrible clubhouse manager and his decisions weren't very good either. Garner's great at managing the clubhouse. His in-game moves have been iffy at times but you can't argue with results. He takes over the team and turns everything around and we get to the NLCS and then the World Series.
